Low budget goremeister Ryan Nicholson's first film Live Feed was a real stinker and enough to turn off anyone from his work permanently. But the guy's a Macabre fan so I had to give him another chance. Seriously though. A slasher movie in a bowling alley does have some merit.

A fight breaks out between two rival bowling teams. Unfortunately, one particular gay bashing jock gets his ego bruised and decided to take it out on one of the other team's girls. The next night, after a long I Spit On Your Grave-esque gang bang, the teams return and start getting offed by BBK, a killer with a ball bag as a mask.

Not sure if Gutterballs was all that great but it's miles ahead of Live Feed. All the production issues from that one have been fixed here and the storytelling doesn't feel nearly as choppy or incoherent. Still, it does sorta leave a bad taste in your mouth. All of the characters are scum. I mean, really scum. Naturally, the rapists are all moronic, gay bashing misogynists who pop their collars and toss out slurs literally every line (as if we needed a horror movie to tell us popped collars are bad news). Yet the so-called good guys aren't all that "good" either and are just as inclined to gay bash. Seriously, the word "faggot" got thrown out more times than Eli Roth could hope to accomplish in three film careers.

Unlike Roth's films, it's far too obvious that these characters are meant to be hated (which was confirmed in the Behind the Scenes). I'll commend Nicholson for that as opposed to trying to pass off sluts, creepers and bigots as sweethearts. Still, that leaves the fact that the whole point of the movie is to watch people get deservedly killed, not to watch a story pan out. Slashers have never been known for depth but this kind of shallowness is somewhat disheartening, especially since every line and interaction is meant to make you hate the characters even more rather than have them react logically to a given circumstance (also confirmed in the Behind the Scenes). Once again, I'll commend Nicholson for his directness as opposed to trying to pass off his film as some kind of warped morality tale nobody buys (I'm looking at you, Saw). Still, it's underwhelming.

That's not to say the film was entirely bad. The kills are the bread and butter of any slasher, naturally, and every kill in Gutterballs is sick, brutal and inventive. There were two in particular that were so vile, I'm wondering how Nicholson was actually able to convince the actors to act them out. The rape scene felt the same way. Gutterballs never went to the MPAA so there's tons of male and female nudity including one completely genuine oral sex scene. Nicholson fully exploits his ability to show whatever he wants. In any case, practically every way someone could die in a bowling alley is utilized with pretty satisfactory effects for such a miniscule budget.

The filmmaking is also pretty solid. I'd almost go so far to say that Nicholson is the Scorsese of direct-to-video horror movies. I suppose a lot is owed to the location, a real after-hours bowling alley, which looks absolutely terrific. Still, the lighting and cinematography are all skillfully utilized to create a visually satisfying horror movie. It's actually kind of inspiring how much one is able to do with so little. Honestly, it seems like both this and Live Feed could've been made by someone with a regular job who went out and found some investors.

I also think Gutterballs really captures the spirit of the 80s, especially mid-tier horror movies like Pieces and Maniac. The Troma influence is also undeniable. The dialogue is awful and not always intentionally so but a lot of it is still funny and while the acting is also awful, all the players seem to relish every minute of it and really go over the top. And in spite of it all, Nicholson is fully able to create his own style and put out more innovation than I think most big budget American horror directors are capable of. It also helps when your background is in special FX. Everyone's probably seen Nicholson's work somewhere, he's worked on so many films.

Overall, Gutterballs is probably the Taxi Driver of cheesy dirt cheap direct-to-DVD horror movies. Not something one aspires to be, generally speaking, but I suppose it's good to be the best at something. Not sure how highly I'd recommend it though.

Well, it was a decent time-waster. My sister was given the DVD at a convention and we watched it together last year.

Make no mistake: it's typical low-budget DTDVD trash. Completely cheesy, trashy, schlocky, and sloppy.

But I do agree, it has that 80s-style flair that is normally impossible to recreate. The gore was pretty decent too, considering what they had to work with.

If all you want is a mindless, retro-style slasher to get drunk over, give it a rent. Otherwise, I'd say "avoid." I don't think most people are used to this kind of low-quality films.

--Julio

Quoted from ReaperCreeper Well, it was a decent time-waster. My sister was given the DVD at a convention and we watched it together last year.

Ouch! I can't imagine watching this one with either of my sisters. They don't have much taste for any of the movies I like but still. I watching Hellraiser on full blast over the weekend while my 14 year old sister was trying to study but had to pause this one once or twice out of sheer embarrassment when I heard her coming around. Hope it wasn't too awkward for you, haha.

Quoted from ReaperCreeper If all you want is a mindless, retro-style slasher to get drunk over, give it a rent. Otherwise, I'd say "avoid." I don't think most people are used to this kind of low-quality films.

Haha! I actually went through a 6-pack of Beck's while watching this. Wasn't particularly feeling it but I do suppose the drunk factor could contribute to the movie's enjoyability.

My sister is 23 and I got her into Horror a long time ago. In fact, she was the one who mailed Martyrs to me from Mexico to Wisconsin.lol. It's not awkward at all. She loves the stuff now.

--Julio

That's cool. As supportive as they are of my career choices, my family hates my movies, refuses to read any of my scripts and generally seems uninterested in any of my story ideas. I talk their heads off on a regular basis and they listen but I don't think they wanna hear it. If I ever had a movie premiere, I couldn't pay them to come out and see it, even if it were the only one I'd ever had. You are lucky in my eyes, good sir.